There are fresh doubts over Rory O'Carroll's inter-county future after Jack McCaffrey said he doesn't expect him to return to the Dublin fold next year.

While McCaffrey is keen to return in 2017, O'Carroll looks set to take at least another year out. Both defenders were unavailable to Jim Gavin this season with McCaffrey spending the summer in Ethiopia as a GOAL ambassador and full back O'Carroll moving to New Zealand for work reasons.

"My understanding of it is that Rory isn't available for next year, but I'm not 100pc sure. He went away for work. I'm not sure how that side of things will pan out for him," the reigning Footballer of the Year told the Irish Independent.

"But if he comes back. . . I'm sure he'll try his best to get involved. If he doesn't, you can't really question his reasons, he's trying to make a few quid.

"It would be great to play alongside him again at some point but if it doesn't happen I've really enjoyed being a friend and a team-mate of his over the last few years."

McCaffrey feels the Dublin full back line have coped admirably without O'Carroll, who recently returned to Irish soil.

"Rory would have been in my mind undoubtedly a bigger loss than me. If anyone had come in and tried to copy what Rory did it would have gone very, very badly for them. The three lads didn't do that, they just kept playing their own game, and it's different and it's equally effective," he added.

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